Gambling Impact Study — Part 1A - Online Sunshine

That does not mean that the industry will stop changing and evolving. Change willcontinue, whether public officials play a lead role or not. The factors leading to change, as outlinedin this section, will not render any effort to develop a gaming policy as moot. In fact, the presenceof these critical factors heightens the need for a comprehensive policy. Based on our research andexperience in Florida and elsewhere, gaming will evolve in Florida whether or not the FloridaLegislature develops a plan and puts that plan into action. Absent any plan, however, that evolutionwould be haphazard and would be far less likely to address or advance any public-policy goals.1. How Governments Respond to Gambling ExpansionGaming has been expanding for decades and continues to do so. Even when limits areenshrined in the state Constitution, it does not preclude serious expansion efforts. Constitutionallimitations, as well as tribal compacts, can be viewed as obstacles to expansion, but in a real-worldsense, do not serve as permanent barriers. The best example of this can be found in New York,where the state constitution prohibits commercial gambling, yet it has a highly successful lottery,nine racinos and five Indian casinos – all operating through a variety of exemptions, rulings andlegal interpretations. Today, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is pushing to outright amendthe state Constitution to allow full-blown commercial casinos; i.e., those with true slot machines(as opposed to video lottery terminals) and live table games.Florida’s convoluted gambling laws, which we discuss in detail later in this report, haveallowed an expansion of gambling to occur that the Legislature may never have intended. Rulingsin recent years by the state’s regulatory agency, the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering (“PMW”),have allowed what critics call an “exploitation” of current gaming laws.As Kent Stirling, executive director of the Florida Horsemen's Benevolent and ProtectiveAssociation, told the Tampa Bay Times, “If the law doesn’t specifically say no, the answer fromthe department seems to be, always, yes.” 6At issue, for example, is the simple definition of a pari-mutuel event. Can it involve justtwo horses or two jai alai players? Does a horse race have to run on a traditional oval? Can a racebegin with a simple drop of a flag? Can an operator comply with the live racing requirement byinstituting “barrel” or rodeo-type racing? Can an operator shut down, transfer its live racing datesto another facility and then establish an off-site simulcasting operation with a cardroom? Can adormant jai alai permit be converted into a greyhound racing permit, with the result similar to theone just described? PMW, through rulings or inaction, has, in effect, answered all of thesequestions with a “yes.”6Mary Ellen Klas, “Gambling footprint expanding in Florida under Gov. Rick Scott,” Tampa Bay Times, June30, 2013. http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/gambling-footprint-expanding-in-florida-under-gov-rickscott/2129317.Florida Gaming Study, Part 1-A 8